David Coulthard has offered his view on the reasons why Lewis Hamilton has not yet put pen to paper with Mercedes for 2024 and beyond.
Hamilton and Mercedes have given every indication over the past few months that they intend to continue their partnership.
The seven-time world champion has repeatedly insisted that the Brackley squad remains his surrogate family, while team boss Toto Wolff claimed earlier this month that only "trivial" aspects of the contract were holding up its finalization.
But Coulthard has suggested that those minor elements of the covenant, as characterized by Wolff, might in fact involve something more significant as far as Hamilton is concerned and key to his well-being.
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"Mercedes will want a certain amount of time from Lewis for their partners," Coulthard explained to the PA news agency.
"Mercedes will have sold sponsorship on obtaining access to their drivers. Some businesses will have signed up with the Silver Arrows because Lewis is there, rather than George Russell.
"Perhaps Lewis might be wanting to do fewer days or have fewer commitments?
"What Lewis will be signing up for goes way beyond him driving at a grand prix. It is about what rights he retains in terms of his image, and what rights he sells to the team.
"Mercedes are buying more than just Lewis’ driving services. They are buying his promotional image and his PR image."
As someone with his ear to the ground, Coulthard hasn't heard anything that suggests a "major fallout" between Mercedes and Hamilton.
"I am not aware Lewis is having a change of heart about whether he wants to go racing or not, and I don’t think Mercedes are having second doubts," said the former Grand Prix driver and Channel 4 commentator.
"I don’t think there is any realistic chance that Lewis will leave Mercedes unless there is a major fallout. And I can’t see that happening.
"Who would the major fallout be with? Even if it was with Toto, Lewis’ relationship with Mercedes’ parent company Daimler is much longer than Toto’s emergence as team principal of Mercedes."
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